A grant of about $10,000 was awarded to the group from the Queanbeyan Leagues Club and the Kangaroos Rugby League Football Club as part of the Clubs NSW Community Development Support Expenditure (CDSE) scheme.

QCSNG early intervention teacher Karen Mills said funding for the new program helped alleviate long waiting lists for the group's services, which provide early intervention services for children aged zero to six years who have special needs.

``Children generally come to us because they're identified as having a delay in their communication development, usually by the health nurse and the child health centre,'' she said.

``They're referred to us but up until now they've been on a waiting list because all the other playgroups are full.

``Through coming here we're hoping to give children the opportunity to potentially socialise and play with other children in an educational setting, but also we're hoping to give parents strategies that they can use at home every day of the child's life that will help support their child's communication development.

``We can refer parents if they need further assessment, so it's a starting point for parents to get support from other organisations as well.''

QCSNG general manager Ken Roberts said there was already a waiting list for the new program, which catered for children aged zero to three.

``If we had the facility and the capacity to run it more often then we would but at the moment it's every second week,'' he said.

``The earlier we can get them to work with the professionals then that gives them greater skills down the track.

``They learn identification and word skills. They work in groups and individually on pronunciation, colours, putting small phrases together and rhymes and rhythms and that sort of thing. So it's a coordination of communication skill, but also with each other and mum and dad.